chia obama: day 21

becky commented earlier that she is uncomfortable watching chia obama's hair grow because that seems like too personal an activity to watch, as it relates to her president.  well, watching chia obama's hair die because you've been busy and forgot to water him?  too depressing to take a photo of.  so i didn't.  you're welcome.

today i gave chia obama a good shave and he's bald again.  he had a good run of it - three weeks...maybe we'll have a round two at a later date.

i wonder how much real obama pays for a hair cut.  does he have a personal barber?  or does someone make (white) house calls?  how often does he get a hair cut?  this project has brought up so many questions in my mind...

chia obama: day 16

chia obama - you look so good!  your hair is growing very well...and it is getting a little crazy, which is fun for me.

hehe - i especially like the ones at the nape of his neck - growing every which way.  and his ear hair/sprouts continue to grow.  nice work, chia obama.

um...chia obama, i hate to tell you this, but you're balding a little on top.  actually, a lot.  you look kind of like julius caesar in this picture, except caesar was bald all over with a laurel thing wrapped around his head.  that's what you kind of look like, chia obama.

the chia instruction "manual" (read: piece of paper) says to put your chia obama in direct sunlight, but not on a windowsill because the "extreme heat and extreme cold" aren't good for him.  um, chia instruction manual?  in my house the only direct sunlight is on the windowsill.  DUH.  perhaps i am responsible for chia obama's premature baldness, as it is a little cold on the windowsill.

also, chia obama has a weird white patch on his nose and one eyebrow.  i can't explain it.

overall, this week we have learned that i am a negligent plant owner.

(dad: you will be pleased to know that chia obama comes with enough seeds to do several plantings, though i will not bore the blog world with each planting.)

chia obama: day 8

chia obama's hair continues to grow!  it's growing a bit unevenly at the moment, with some sprouts almost an inch long and others still babies.  so he looks a little weird, but i guess that's normal when you're a chia pet.  the instructions say to rotate him so that each side gets equal exposure to the sun, so maybe that will help as his hair continues to grow.

one thing i'm learning is that it is very hard to take photos of a chia obama so that one's friends can see how well his hair is growing.  maybe that will change as his hair gets thicker.  please get thicker, hair.

the instructions say that growth will continue for about 4 weeks until this is no longer a suitable environment for the growing sprouts, and then they will start to die.  that means you have three more weeks of following him on the blog - get excited!

chia obama: day 4

surprisingly (?) my chia obama has sprouted!  a couple seeds have sprouted in his ears (oops), but maybe real obama has hair in his ears and i'm just trying to be accurate - you never know.  now that chia obama has a little hair he looks less silly and more legit.  in fact, this is probably the actual length of real obama's hair.  i should probably just stop now.  BUT WHERE WOULD BE THE FUN IN THAT?

chia obama is living on our window sill, which (a) helps him grow his hair faster, and (b) gives him something to look at all day while i'm at work.  i know he's grateful.

oh, the fun of a chia pet.

chia obama: day 1

this is my obama chia pet.

why do i have an obama chia pet, you ask?  one of my students gave it to me in may as an end-of-the-year present, which i think is pretty much the best end-of-year present ever.  since i was gone all summer (and lazy for all of august and september), i've just now planted him.  you soak the seeds in water and they make this sticky goo that you can spread on the grooves in his head.  it was messy, but i think i did it right.  here he is on day 1, all freshly planted (can you call it planting if there is no soil?):

("yes, we can...grow a chia obama!" a slogan found both on the chia obama box and RIGHT THERE on his bust.  this adds to his awesomeness, obviously.)

i'll keep you updated on how chia obama grows.  GET EXCITED.